Route planning resources?

[championsound]

Hey all, come spring I'm going to attempt a BBG and I have my route pretty much set (western PA to Rapid City SD).

I'm sweating all the details and I'm planning all my gas stops (along with alternates). I'll be stopping to refuel aplenty since my bike wasn't built for this sort of thing (RC51). I know, I know, I've done all the math and to be able to pull off this ride on my bike is a BIG ask, but I'm going to give it a go anyway.

For planning my gas stops, I'm using The Next Exit (book and website) as well as googlemaps. I have Mapsource for my gps too but I'd rather have everything all set before I bother opening up that slowass program. While I'm having some success with my planning, it's slow going trying to find 24hr gas stations every 120 miles or so. My question - what books / websites /resources do you guys use to plan your routes and fuel stops? Thanks.

[Spiffious]

Google maps.   That's it really.

[jwhite518]

I really like Streets & Trips for the kind of route planning you're doing. It allows you to set a fuel range, so you get an idea of where you'll be each 120 miles. It will tell you the gas stations it knows about, but in the end Google is the best for getting phone numbers so you can talk to a human in the iffy situations.

You are being very smart to plan gas ahead of time. With such a short range you have no margin for error. You also will have to be extremely disciplined with stopped time. With 12 gas stops, ten minutes a stop is two hours gone, but 15 minutes per stop is three hours gone.

Have you looked into any of the POI websites? I like POI Factory. There is a truck stop database, you can import it into Crapsource and see them all visually. Also dependent on which GPS, you can load them all in as Custom POIs.

Enjoy the ride planning! I think it's almost as fun as doing the ride.

[championsound]

I really like Streets & Trips...

S&T? I was afraid someone was going to say that. I'm a mac user, always have been, probably always will be. I don't want to go through the hassle of running parallels, getting my hands on a Windows OS disk, and trying to run S&T that way. At that point I might as well continue on with my current plotting strategy - finding a gas station, plotting it in crapsource, picking a town / landmark / mile marker 120 miles away on my route then finding another gas station near or around there and so on. FWIW, The Next Exit book really is proving to be a big help in this regard!

Enjoy the ride planning! I think it's almost as fun as doing the ride.

I think so too.  

[2wTraveler]

S&T? I was afraid someone was going to say that. I'm a mac user, always have been, probably always will be. I don't want to go through the hassle of running parallels, getting my hands on a Windows OS disk, and trying to run S&T that way. At that point I might as well continue on with my current plotting strategy - finding a gas station, plotting it in crapsource, picking a town / landmark / mile marker 120 miles away on my route then finding another gas station near or around there and so on. FWIW, The Next Exit book really is proving to be a big help in this regard!

 I think so too.  

Could be worse, I'm a Linux user  

I have to dual boot with Winblows just to use some of my mapping resources.

[rabbott5]

Once I have a basic idea for a route, I launch Google maps twice on my computer at the same time.  I plot my start and then place a stop somewhere around my fuel window.  I then open the second page and go to the town close to my stop point and search for fuel.  Every fuel station shows up.  I search the ones along my route.  Most of the time ones closest to an interstate or have a ame loike Quick Stop are usually open 24 hours.  If you are riding in a more remote area, the information on the gas station shows a phone number.  You could call ahead and verify their hours.  After I find one that meets my needs, I copy the address to the stop on the first pages map and then add another stop.  I continue to toggle between the two Google maps until I have my route planned out.  You can do the same thing for hotels and food stops.  If you feel the need.

[championsound]

Could be worse, I'm a Linux user   ...

At least with linux it's much easier it's much easier to go from windows to osx and back. Or use both!

Once I have a basic idea for a route, I launch Google maps twice on my computer at the same time...

This is essentially what I'm doing as well, then confirming everything with the book. Though I'm confident everything is in order, I just can't help but to wish for an easier / faster method of routing my stops. I know a lot of IBA folks swear by S&T, but as an osx user, I have no FHE with it.

This whole process makes what IBR competitors do seem all the more amazing to me since there's so little time to plan your routes. Granted, they're on appropriate bikes complete with auxiliary fuel... but even with that type of bike, I doubt I'd ever be able to do what they do as well as they do. My hat's off to all you IBR hopefuls and I wish you the best of luck in this year's rally!

[Ignacio]

This whole process makes what IBR competitors do seem all the more amazing to me since there's so little time to plan your routes.

Don't give us too much credit....it's one of the reasons we slap on big ol' fuel cells on bikes....so it doesn't make fuel stops quite so critical.  But, I wouldn't personally sweat figuring out each individual fuel stop assuming you're planning to slab it.  24 hour fuel will tend to be 30 miles or less apart on roads that have "I-" at the beginning.

Personally, I'd just punch in fuel near current route on the ol' 2820 Garmin combined with road mileage signs.  1 fuel station and not referenced on the interstate signs....not likely reliable 24 hour fuel.  5 stations and on a couple mileage signs.....slam dunk for 24 hour fuel.

[doug5551]

This whole process makes what IBR competitors do seem all the more amazing to me since there's so little time to plan your routes.

Maybe a little known fact is that the people in the IBR run out of gas, too, even though they are carrying upwards of 11.5 gallons of fuel.

Some friends of mine ran out of gas TWICE on the 09 IBR.

Another friend had to be bailed out by another participant who ran to the next station and brought back some gas.

In the Iron Butt 5000, I ran upwards of 400 miles on my FJR.  I carry 10.8 gallons, and twice had to fill up with 10+ gallons.  I had to watch it constantly because MPG varied quite a bit.

Plus, one morning I was leaving a town at 3am, and was worried about what fuel would be available ahead, so I just got gas early so I didn't have to worry about it.  At the time, I wasn't even sure what state I was in, but it turned out I was leaving McAlester, OK and heading towards Dallas, but I really did not know that at the time.  There was plenty of fuel on the route, but I have learned I don't like watching and worrying about running out of gas.

[2wTraveler]

When I did my Bunburner Gold ride, I ran out of gas less than 5 miles from the finish line (had the mileage, but witness was waiting 5 mi. down the road). Luckily, it was within sight of a gas station so I pulled in the clutch lever and coasted to a pump. Got some gas thinking the receipt there would suffice as a finish receipt...nope gas station was closed (pumps were working) but no receipt from the printer...D'oh. Barely made it to the other gas station where my witness was......

[Specter]

BTW, I'd suggest getting a 1L fuel bottle (the kind backpackers use) and keeping it for an emergency reserve. It lessens the stress when you dip into reserve.

You've probably already calculated this, but you need to average 62.5 MPH. At 120 miles per fill, you have to stop about 12 times. If your stops are only 5 minutes long, you're down to 23 hours of riding and a 65.2 MPH average. Executing 5 minute stops perfectly 12 times is an outstanding achievement.

Some suggestions that work for me:

• Put the route into your GPS, and keep the display visible that shows your ETA. Use it to keep your pace and stay ahead of schedule
  [li]Get in the habit now of filling, getting the receipt, checking it for time and address writing the odometer mileage on it and stashing it in a safe, cool dry place every time. I even do this now for my truck as a habit.
  [li]Always pay at the pump.
  [li]Pick the station closest to the on/off ramps. Price is irrelevant in an attempt like this.
  

When I did my BBG, it was relentless, even though I had 11 gallon capacity and wide open western interstates. It took me 23:15.  Weather, traffic, gas and comfort stops add up. Hardest one day ride ever.

I have no doubt you can do it, but plan plan plan ( I think its one  of the fun parts) . If you get tired, stop and rest. A Bun Burner is still a tough ride to shoot for and you'll have 12 more hours.

[championsound]

BTW, I'd suggest getting a 1L fuel bottle (the kind backpackers use) and keeping it for an emergency reserve. It lessens the stress when you dip into reserve.

You've probably already calculated this, but you need to average 62.5 MPH. At 120 miles per fill, you have to stop about 12 times. If your stops are only 5 minutes long, you're down to 23 hours of riding and a 65.2 MPH average. Executing 5 minute stops perfectly 12 times is an outstanding achievement.

Some suggestions that work for me:

• Put the route into your GPS, and keep the display visible that shows your ETA. Use it to keep your pace and stay ahead of schedule
  [li]Get in the habit now of filling, getting the receipt, checking it for time and address writing the odometer mileage on it and stashing it in a safe, cool dry place every time. I even do this now for my truck as a habit.
  [li]Always pay at the pump.
  [li]Pick the station closest to the on/off ramps. Price is irrelevant in an attempt like this.
  

When I did my BBG, it was relentless, even though I had 11 gallon capacity and wide open western interstates. It took me 23:15.  Weather, traffic, gas and comfort stops add up. Hardest one day ride ever.

I have no doubt you can do it, but plan plan plan ( I think its one  of the fun parts) . If you get tired, stop and rest. A Bun Burner is still a tough ride to shoot for and you'll have 12 more hours.

Specter, thanks for your input! For a while there I was wracking my brain trying to figure out how to carry emergency fuel and I think I've finally come up with the best solution - I mounted a pelican 1500 onto my passenger seat to carry my spares and essentials and I'm going to mount a 1 gallon Rotopax on top of the Pelican. I figured that if I was going to bother carrying spare gas, I want to carry at least 1 gallon, and in order to carry that much I'd need to carry 4 MSR bottles. 4 MSR bottles from Eastern Mountain sports = $80. Then I'd have to carry more luggage to accommodate the bottles. Nope, the Rotopax is the way to go for me. Then if I need to actually use the extra fuel, I'd have to carry a funnel too if I wanted to refill the spent bottles (the bottle's openings can't accommodate the fuel pump's nozzle).

As for you tips, thanks again. Unfortunately (?) I'm fully aware of the math and while it's 25° right now it's easy for me to daydream that I can totally do this ride, but once I'm off and rolling, I KNOW I'll be tempted to prolong my stops to a leisurely 15 minutes per  

This will be my 2nd attempt at a BBG and my first attempt (2 years ago) failed miserably. I was going really well and I kept my moving average hovering around 65mph. Then midnight came and I hit the wall. My BBG attempt turned into a regular BB, which then turned into a snoozefest while holed up in a Super 8 motel somewhere in the middle of Indiana   My mistakes for that ride? Though I planned everything to the last detail, I neglected to get any meaningful rest the weeks previous to my attempt.

[Justin]

Though I planned everything to the last detail, I neglected to get any meaningful rest the weeks previous to my attempt.

Yeap, 24 hours in the saddle without being rested drains you quickly, particularly once night falls. Being cold is the next killer, if your body is fighting to stay warm, that just sucks the energy out of you. BBG is best done when it's warm out.

Good luck, hope you make it this time!

[lionlady]

I have to ask, why are you doing it one way? Why not split the mileage (plus a margin) and do an out and back run? Then you don't have all that distance to slog back home after beating yourself up making the "official" run?

I'm planning to ride a ss1000 in the coming year, will likely ride the same route hubby (guitardad) did for his. From Baltimore to Lexington, KY and back again. The good thing is that you have your own bed to look forward to at the end.

P